The flying herd

Installation for SMACH Biennale
Passo di Sant‘ Antonio, Dolomites, Italy (2023)

An ancient Ladin tale recounts how a nomadic shepherd had reached a valley with his herd. He asked the locals if his herd could graze there but they wanted to get rid of him and sent him up the mountains where they said he could find lush green pastures. But it was a lie, as nothing grew that high. The man and his herd were about to die from thirst when a gana, a female water nymph, appeared and created a spring out of a rock for them.
The installation is located along a path crossing the gravelly climb to Passo di Sant’Antonio, with little to no vegetation in sight. The bells sway in the wind, and their sound merges with the barely audible cowbells from below. A soundscape reminiscent of the legend and a reminder of the importance of water to sustain life.